Finding Humanity

Justice is a fundamental human right, and is critical in ensuring that other human rights are upheld. When women and girls do not have access to justice, it undermines progress to achieving gender equality. The Sustainable Development Goals agreed on by all countries in 2015 include specific goals to achieve gender equality and to provide access to justice for all, yet, five billion people around the world still do not have meaningful access to justice – most of whom are women and girls. While progress has been made, no country in the world has yet achieved true gender equality and equal access to justice. In this episode, hosts Hazami Barmada and Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland, former UN High-Commissioner For Human Rights and Chair of The Elders) are joined by fellow Elder and pioneering human rights lawyer, Hina Jilani, to explore the intersection of access to justice and gender equality. What is meaningful access to justice? How does it relate to advancing women and girl’s rights around the world, and what are the barriers hindering our progress? We unpack how global platforms such as the Beijing Declaration and the Generation Equality Forum help drive action and accountability for women’s rights, and better understand how we can build more political will to ensure gender equality is achieved. -- This special series of Finding Humanity is a production of Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media, in collaboration with The Elders. Subscribe, rate, and leave us a review. For more information, visit findinghumanitypodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @find_humanity and on Facebook @findinghumanitypod.

How does one get out of a vicious cycle of violence, hatred, or oppression? In Season 3 of Finding Humanity, we bring you stories of people trapped in environments where danger and trauma are hard to escape — and where often, self-identity is eradicated.  In each episode, we meet humans who are stuck in transit and follow their unique journeys in search of justice and freedom. Will seeking help push them deeper into a more cruel reality? How do we see ourselves in their struggle for peace and dignity? In telling stories of people who are shut inside conditions of injustice, we will give listeners an opportunity to develop empathy with how difficult it is to ‘get out’. On the podcast, you will hear from expert voices on issues including extremism, international adoption scams, gang and domestic violence, sex work, and forced labor. -- This special series of Finding Humanity is a production of Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media. Subscribe, rate, and leave us a review. For more information, visit findinghumanitypodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @find_humanity and on Facebook @findinghumanitypod.

The United Nations was created in 1945, following the devastation of World War II. The opening lines of its founding charter commit its signatories to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. However, with more than 40 active conflicts around the world today, we ask: has the United Nations failed to live up to its aim of ensuring international peace and security? In this episode, hosts Hazami Barmada and Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland, former UN High-Commissioner For Human Rights and Chair of The Elders) are joined by fellow Elder, veteran UN diplomat and current President of the International Peace Institute, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. Together, we examine the role and function of the UN’s most influential body - the Security Council. We dive into the Council’s functions and powers–and unpack its structural weaknesses. On the podcast, we’ll discuss reforms that could help the UN better prevent conflict and meet today’s global threats. We answer questions like: How does the veto power of some nations stand in the way of accountability? How can the structure of the UN Security Council better represent the power structures of the world today? How do we achieve a world with no conflict? -- This special series of Finding Humanity is a production of Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media, in collaboration with The Elders. Subscribe, rate, and leave us a review. For more information, visit findinghumanitypodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @find_humanity and on Facebook @findinghumanitypod.

While the world grapples with COVID-19 and the climate emergency, nuclear war remains a real and present danger to the future of humanity. So why is nobody talking about it? Throughout the Cold War, nuclear confrontation was a threat that overshadowed everyone’s lives and was reflected in popular culture and debate. Today, we are confronted with the dangerous prospect of a new nuclear arms race, yet it is barely spoken about. Despite big reductions since the end of the Cold War, around 13,000 nuclear warheads are still in existence. These have a combined destructive capability of close to 100,000 Hiroshima-sized bombs. Worryingly, a large proportion of the total–nearly 4,000–remain operationally deployed. The weapons are still there, but where is the political debate and public scrutiny? In this episode, hosts Hazami Barmada and Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland, former UN High-Commissioner For Human Rights and Chair of The Elders) are joined by a leading global nuclear expert, Joe Cirincione, to unpack the looming threat of big-scale mass destruction posed by nuclear weapons and efforts needed to eliminate future nuclear threats. We look at the state of nuclear arms around the world. Who has them, who wants them, and why? What are the social, economic and political consequences of inaction on curbing a nuclear threat? Are nuclear non-proliferation and elimination policies effective? How can we curb the nuclear threat we’re facing and what are our best hopes for ultimately achieving a world free of nuclear weapons? -- This special series of Finding Humanity is a production of Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media, in collaboration with The Elders. Subscribe, rate, and leave us a review. For more information, visit findinghumanitypodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @find_humanity and on Facebook @findinghumanitypod.

After the shooting of African-American teen Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of his murderer, George Zimmerman, Alicia Garza created a Facebook post saying: "Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter, Black Lives Matter." Growing up in a mixed-race household, Alicia’s understanding of race was influenced by her upbringing. In 2013, Alicia co-founded the Nobel Peace prize nominee Black Lives Matter movement, in response to incidents of police brutality and racially motivated violence against Black people. In this episode, we explore the legacies of racial inequality and how the struggle for racial justice has endured for centuries, in spite of the birth of the Civil Rights Movement. While slavery is known to have existed centuries before throughout the world, we unpack what makes slavery in America distinct and how the history of slavery still influences our present. In our season 2 finale, we also dive into a key manifestation of systemic racism — the racial wealth gap — and how financial, educational, housing, employment, and other inequities between Black and white Americans cost the U.S. over $16 trillions of dollars in economic loss each year. On the podcast, we ask ourselves the difficult question posed by Martin Luther King: “Where do we go from here?” Featuring policy and advocacy insights from experts:  Professor Clayborne Carson, Director, Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University; and Christy Clark-Pujara, Associate Professor of History, Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Host: Hazami Barmada, Founder and CEO, Humanity Lab Foundation. -- This episode is made possible with the support of Vodafone Americas Foundation. To learn more about their programs and how you can support their network of partners, visit vodafone-us.com -- Finding Humanity is a production of Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media. Subscribe, rate, and leave us a review. For more information, visit findinghumanitypodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @find_humanity and on Facebook @findinghumanitypod.

Gro Brundtland on the COVID-19 Crisis and Why Universal Health Coverage is Crucial to Prevent Future Pandemics COVID-19  has exposed the vulnerabilities of our inherently interconnected existence. Tens-of-millions of confirmed cases and more than 2 million COVID-19-related deaths have so far been confirmed globally – the pandemic has impacted nearly every country in the world. If the crisis has taught us anything, it is that no one is safe until everyone is safe. This is why more and more people are recognising the role Universal Health Coverage (UHC) could play in building resilient health systems and in promoting fairer, more inclusive societies. In this episode, we ask, why is UHC a crucial component to the response to COVID-19, and what role does it have in future pandemic preparedness? Co-hosts Hazami Barmada and Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland and Chair of The Elders) discuss how COVID-19 has changed our perspective on UHC and on humanity’s relationship with nature itself. They are joined by Gro Harlem Brundtland, Elder, former Prime Minister of Norway and former Director-General of the World Health Organization. What has COVID-19 taught us about under-investment in public health systems? Why is UHC a crucial part of pandemic preparedness? And how does health relate to wider issues such as conflict, poverty, and inequality? -- This special series of Finding Humanity is a production of Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media, in collaboration with The Elders. Subscribe, rate, and leave us a review. For more information, visit findinghumanitypodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @find_humanity and on Facebook @findinghumanitypod.

Wai Wai Nu was born in Rakhine State, located on the western coast of Myanmar where most Rohingya reside. A predominantly Buddhist country, the Rohingya are a Muslim minority in Myanmar who have been rendered stateless since 1982. Through the lens of a young woman whose family was imprisoned and displaced to internment camps, this episode unravels the ongoing conflict in Myanmar and the military crackdown on Rohingya civilians. Ongoing violence against the Rohingya has resulted in the fastest refugee outflow since the Rwandan genocide, with over 742,000 Rohingya fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh. This episode dives into the problematic citizenship laws of Myanmar and the allegations of atrocities against the Rohingya, which many in the international community are calling a crime of genocide. On the podcast, we also discuss statelessness, its causes, and the important action required to prevent human rights abuses. Featuring policy and advocacy insights from experts: Ambassador David Scheffer, Visiting Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and Matthew Smith, CEO and Co-Founder at Fortify Rights. The Elders Special Segment Guest: Ban Ki-moon, Former UN Secretary-General and Deputy Chair of The Elders. Host: Hazami Barmada, Founder and CEO, Humanity Lab Foundation. -- Finding Humanity is a production of Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media. Subscribe, rate, and leave us a review. For more information, visit findinghumanitypodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @find_humanity and on Facebook @findinghumanitypod.

Living in a small village in Nigeria, Blessing Okoedion was promised a job in Europe as a computer engineer— only to fall into the hands of human traffickers in Italy. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), an estimated 40.3 million people worldwide were trafficked in 2016. This crime earns profits of roughly $150 billion a year for traffickers as a whole, with $99 billion coming from commercial sexual exploitation. While the majority of sexual trafficking happens in the Asia Pacific region, cases are present in every region of the world, with females constituting 99% of its victims. In this episode, we follow Blessing’s journey — from an aspiring doctor to a woman forced into prostitution currently fighting for other victims and survivors. On the show, we talk about the challenges of combatting modern slavery, the solutions needed to address its root causes, and the support needed to advocate for victims. Featuring policy and advocacy insights from experts:   Katharine Bryant, Lead of European Engagement at the Walk Free Foundation and co-author of the Global Slavery Index, and Ilias Chatzis, Chief at the Human Trafficking and Migrant Section at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The Elders Special Segment Guest: Graça Machel, International  Advocate for Women’s and Children’s Rights, and Founding Member of The Elders Host: Hazami Barmada, Founder and CEO, Humanity Lab Foundation. -- This episode is made possible with the support of Vodafone Americas Foundation. To learn more about their programs and how you can support their network of partners, visit vodafone-us.com -- Finding Humanity is a production of Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media. Subscribe, rate, and leave us a review. For more information, visit findinghumanitypodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @find_humanity and on Facebook @findinghumanitypod.

Born in Pakistan, Barat Ali Batoor moved to Afghanistan as a photojournalist.  His parents fled the country in the early 70s because of the discrimination they experienced as Hazaras, an ethnic minority group in Afghanistan that has faced political, economic and social repression for more than a century. In this episode, Barat takes us on his gripping journey — one that reached its apex when he documented the injustice done to the ‘Dancing Boys’ and the practice called ‘Bacha Bazi’ a tradition found across Afghanistan involving the sexual exploitation of boys.  He was forced to flee to find safety, like other journalists and whistleblowers who face threats to their life from exposing the wrongdoings of those in power. On the show, we unpack the difference between a political asylum seeker and a refugee and better understand why two-thirds of the refugees in the world have been waiting roughly 20 years or more for their cases to be resolved. We also dive briefly into the experience of the Hazara population, historic context into the political instability in Afghanistan, and the danger attached to Barat’s work. Featuring policy and advocacy insights from experts:  Charu Lata Hogg, Executive Director of All Survivors Project, Niamatullah Ibrahimi, Lecturer at La Trobe University, and James Hathaway, Director of the Program in Refugee and Asylum Law at University of Michigan Law School. The Elders Special Segment Guest: Ban Ki-moon, Deputy Chair of The Elders and former United Nations Secretary-General. Host: Hazami Barmada, CEO, Humanity Lab Foundation. -- Finding Humanity is a production of Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media. Subscribe, rate, and leave us a review. For more information, visit findinghumanitypodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @find_humanity and on Facebook @findinghumanitypod.

Nursimangul Abdurashid and Mihrigul Tursun, two Uighur women, are risking their lives to share harrowing accounts of discrimination, death and torture suffered by the Uighur community in China. In the province of Xinjiang in northwestern China, it’s been reported that at least one million Uighurs are detained in "re-education" camps — where Chinese authorities have committed human rights abuses against ethnic Uighur Muslims. Despite making up less than 2% of the national population, Xinjiang’s prison population grew eightfold from 2016 to 2017, making up 21% of all arrests in China. Between 2017 to 2019, more than 80,000 Uighurs were forced to work in factories across China for little to no pay. Many argue that what the Uighurs are enduring is not simply a violation of human rights or even ethnic cleansing, but meets the United Nations definition of genocide. But who are the Uighurs? And what actually happens in these re-education camps? In this episode, we answer these questions and unpack the complex history of the Xinjiang region. We discuss cultural intolerance and how an anti-Islamic rhetoric after 9/11 led to the Chinese government’s detention of ethnic Uighur Muslims. Featuring policy and advocacy insights from experts: Nury Turkel, Commissioner of United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and James A Millward, Professor of Inter-Societal History at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. -- Finding Humanity is a production of Humanity Lab Foundation and Hueman Group Media.   Subscribe, rate, and leave us a review.  For more information, visit findinghumanitypodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter @find_humanity and on Facebook @findinghumanitypod.